Railroad spill containment tray

ABSTRACT

Spill containment tray covers the area between rails on a railroad, or between rails and wall of a platform to drain off contaminants. Longitudinally extending flanges on opposite sides of tray press against webs of rails. Upper surface of tray slopes downwardly toward a drainage opening. Longitudinally extending ribs on underside of tray contact sleepers, or ties, which extend between the rails. Ribs conform to shape of the rails, and elevate the tray relative to sleepers to allow unimpeded flow through drainage opening in tray.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a spill containment tray for covering the areas between railroad rails, or between the rails and the wall of a station platform, and for draining off contaminant spills occurring during loading operations. The spill containment tray comprises flanges pressed against the webs of the rails, and a drainage outlet connected to a drainage pipe for draining off contaminants. The surface portion of the tray located between the flanges slopes towards the drainage outlet, and the underside of the tray is equipped with ribs.

At certain railroad sections where materials prone to spill are loaded, packaged, or applied for painting, or where hazardous materials may leak out, or where such materials are regularly utilized for railroad operations, it is common to apply spill containment trays to collect spills and drops and thereby protect the soil and groundwater from contaminants.

Major drawbacks of known spill containment trays are that their installation is cumbersome, labour- and material-intensive, and a completely sealed collection surface for collecting and draining contaminants cannot be provided. Such a prefabricated spill containment tray is disclosed in patent specification HU 183,847.

The spill containment tray according to the instant application has a sloped configuration that allows the draining of spills. The rails are secured against transverse and longitudinal displacement by reinforcement plates built into specially arranged supports.

A disadvantage is that it is complex, and that the structural elements are not protected against chemical spills, which leads to a relatively short service life.

These drawbacks are eliminated with the solution disclosed in the document HU 224,322, which provides safe covering of the areas between rails and between the rails and the platform wall.

The disadvantages of such solution are that it comprises bottom ribs arranged perpendicular to the rails, and thus parallel with the sleepers, and that a drain opening is formed in the inner surface prior to installation, which may cause the drain opening to become placed over a sleeper, making the connection of the drainage pipe cumbersome or even unfeasible. A further drawback of such solution is that it can only be installed in case of a straight rail track.

2. Description of the Related Art

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to eliminate the above mentioned disadvantages, and to provide a solution that may be applied for any rail track section, straight or curved.

The invention is based on the recognition that in case the ribs are arranged perpendicular to the sleepers or ties the tray is better seated and is installed more easily, and also that the spill containment tray may be equipped with a central portion where a drain opening may be formed on-site, when the exact position of the drainage pipe has been established. The ribs elevate the spill containment tray above the ballast between the rails, so that flow through the drainage opening is unencumbered or blocked.

The objective of the present invention is fulfilled by providing a spill containment tray comprising flanges pressed against the webs of the rails and a drainage outlet connected to a drainage pipe adapted for draining off contaminants, where the surface portion of the tray located between the flanges is arranged to slope towards the drainage outlet, and the underside of the tray is equipped with ribs, the spill containment tray comprising a central portion in the surface portion located between the flanges for the on-site production of the drain opening for connection to the drainage outlet, and the ribs, disposed on the underside of the tray, are arranged perpendicular to the sleepers supporting the rails such that the arrangement of the ribs conforms to the shape of the rails.

In a preferred embodiment of the spill containment tray according to the present invention, a thickened portion is disposed in the central portion, and the ribs are implemented as longitudinal ribs arranged parallel with the rails, or as curved ribs arranged parallel with the curved rails.

Another preferred embodiment of the railroad spill containment tray according to the present invention has a funnel disposed in the opening formed in the central portion, the funnel being attached to the drainage outlet of the drainage pipe, with overlaps being disposed at both ends of each tray perpendicular to the flanges, the overlaps being adapted to connect adjacently disposed spill containment trays, and with the opening in the central portion and the funnel being connected by welded joints.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

All preferred embodiments of the spill containment tray according to the present invention are made from a plastic material of improved chemical and UV-resistance.

A preferred embodiment of the spill containment tray according to the invention is explained in detail referring to the accompanying drawings, where

FIG. 1 is the top plan view of a spill containment tray according to the invention installed between the rails of a rail track,

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the spill containment tray of FIG. 1 taken along plane A-A,

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the spill containment tray of FIG. 1 taken along plane B-B, the tray being disposed between the rails of a rail track,

FIG. 4 shows the top plan view of a spill containment tray installed between a rail and a station platform,

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the spill containment tray of FIG. 4 taken along plane A-A, and

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of the spill containment tray of FIG. 4 taken along plane B-B, the spill containment tray being disposed between a rail and a station platform.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 shows the top plan view of a spill containment tray 1 adapted to be installed between the rails 8 of a rail track. The spill containment tray 1 is a preferably rectangular tray consisting of an inner portion 3, and a flange 2 portion disposed adjacent to the two lateral sides of the inner portion 3, the flange 2 portion being secured to the sleepers 7 by a fastening assembly 9, and extending under the head of the rails 8. An elliptical central portion 5 is arranged in the inner portion 3, and a drain opening 6 is formed in the central portion 5 when the tray is installed. A funnel 12, adapted to drain the contaminants collected in the spill containment tray to a drainage pipe disposed under the spill containment tray 1, is connected to the opening 6 (see FIG. 2).

Two pairs of parallel, longitudinally extending ribs 4 a, 4 b are disposed on the underside of the spill containment tray 1. The ribs 4 a, 4 b are arranged to support the spill containment tray 1 between the sleepers 7 securing the rails 8 (FIG. 3), so that the flow through the drain opening and funnel is not blocked or impeded.

The spill containment tray 1 also comprises transversal ribs for improved strength. FIG. 4 shows the top plan view of a spill containment tray 10 adapted to be installed between a rail 8 and a station platform. The spill containment tray 10 is implemented as a preferably rectangular tray, the inner portion 3 thereof being identical to the inner portion 3 of spill containment tray 1, with a lateral flange 11 a, extending under the head of the rail, and a lateral flange 11 b, seated on a support 15 on the side facing the platform, being disposed at the two lateral sides.

Longitudinal ribs 4 a, 4 b, are disposed under the inner portion 3. The inner portion 3 is arranged to slope from the flanges 11 a, 11 b towards the central portion 5 of the inner portion 3, where an opening 6 is disposed to connect to a funnel 12 adapted to drain off contaminants (see FIG. 5).

FIG. 6 illustrates the spill containment tray 10 shown in FIG. 4 in its installed state. As it is seen in the drawing, flange 11 a of the spill containment tray 10 extends under the head of rail 8 secured to a sleeper 7 by means of a fastening assembly, while the other flange 11 b is seated on a support 15.

A conceivable installation procedure of the spill containment trays 1, 10 according to the invention is described below:

First, the drainage pipes and the necessary pipe fittings are installed. The trays 1, 10 are installed next. The elliptical central portion 5 is placed above the connection branch of the drainage pipe. After determining the exact position of the drainage branch, an opening 6 is formed in the elliptical central portion 5 of the tray 1, 10. Then the funnel 12 is fitted and secured in the opening 6 by gluing, thereby the contaminants collected in the spill containment tray 1, 10 may be drained without spilling a drop.

The spill containment tray 1, 10 is made from a material having improved chemical resistance that also comprises additives providing UV resistance. The material of the spill containment tray 1, 10 makes it necessary to join the neighbouring spill containment trays 1, 10, and also to join the pipes and branches by welding.

The spill containment trays according to the invention described above are intended for installation in a straight rail track.

However, the above described spill containment trays may also be applied for covering areas between curved rails. In that case the spill containment tray 1, 10 has a curved configuration. The radius of the curve is chosen to be identical with the radius of the curved rail 8 track section, the ribs 4 a, 4 b being also configured in a curved fashion.

The spill containment tray according to the invention has the following advantages:

-   -   it may be installed anywhere, including curved sections of         tracks,     -   it has improved chemical resistance, being resistant to         chemicals with a concentration up to 94-99%,     -   provides a high degree of environmental protection.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A spill containment tray for covering the area between railroad rails or between a railroad rail and the wall of a station platform and for draining off contaminant spills occurring during loading operations, comprising flanges pressed against the webs of the rails and a drainage outlet connected to a drainage pipe adapted for draining off contaminants, the surface portion of the tray located between the flanges sloping towards the drainage opening, and the underside of the tray being equipped with ribs, said tray further comprising a central portion in the surface portion located between the flanges for the on-site production of a drain opening for connection to the drainage outlet, and the ribs, disposed on the underside of the tray, are arranged perpendicular to the sleepers supporting the rails such that the arrangement of the ribs conforms to the shape of the rails.
 2. The spill containment tray according to claim 1, characterized in that the central portion consists of a thickened portion of the elliptical shape.
 3. The spill containment tray according to claim 1, characterized in that said ribs are longitudinal ribs and are arranged parallel to the rails.
 4. The spill containment tray according to claim 1, characterized in that said ribs are curved ribs and are arranged parallel to the curved rails.
 5. The spill containment tray according to claim 1, characterized in that a funnel is disposed in the opening formed in the central portion, the funnel being attached to the drainage branch of a drainage pipe.
 6. The spill containment tray according to claim 1, characterized in that overlaps are disposed at both ends of each tray, the overlaps being arranged perpendicular to the flanges to connect adjacently disposed containment trays.
 7. The spill containment tray according to claim 1, characterized in that welded joints are formed between the spill containment trays, the opening of the central portion, and the funnel.
 8. The spill containment tray according to claim 1, wherein said tray is made from a plastic material of improved chemical and UV-resistance.
 9. A spill containment tray covering the area between a pair of spaced rails or between a rail and a station platform, said tray being formed of a chemical and UV resistant plastic, said tray being rectangular in shape and including an upper surface and an underside, flanges extending longitudinally from the opposite sides of said tray at the upper end thereof, said flanges pressing against the rails, or between the rails and a station platform, spaced ribs extending longitudinally along the underside of said tray and, and adapted to rest upon a sleeper, which extends laterally between the spaced rails or said upper surface of said tray sloping towards a centrally located drainage opening, and a drainage outlet connected to said drainage opening for draining off contaminants contacting said tray.
 10. The spill containment tray of claim 9, wherein the said drainage opening is formed in a thickened central portion of said tray.
 11. The spill containment tray of claim 9, wherein said spaced ribs comprises two pairs of longitudinally extending ribs, one pair located on each side of said drainage opening.
 12. A spill containment tray for covering the area between parallel railroad rails or between a rail and the wall of a station platform and for draining off contaminant spills, said tray comprising: sleepers extending laterally between said railroad rails, flanges at opposite sides of the tray being pressed against webs of the rails, the upper surface of the tray between the flanges sloping downwardly, a drainage opening extending through the tray at a central location to receive contaminant spills, ribs located on the underside of the tray, said ribs extending longitudinally along the tray adapted to contact sleepers extending perpendicularly between the railroad rails to elevate the drainage opening above the sleepers for unimpeded drainage, said ribs conforming in shape to the shape of the railroad rails.
 13. A spill containment tray according to claims 12, wherein said drainage opening is formed, on-site, through the thickened central portion of said tray. 